ALBANY — A former Albany County corrections officer who was fired for living outside the county without permission has filed a notice of claim alleging that he was a victim of selective enforcement.

Russell J. Henry, 46, who has owned a home in Saratoga County since at least 2007, is seeking lost wages and benefits, including medical expenses, and compensatory damages for emotional distress and mental anguish.

Henry was fired Nov. 1 after Sheriff Craig Apple said his residency in Wilton was discovered during an internal investigation regarding an injury that has kept Henry on disability status for several years.

In the claim, filed last week, Henry alleges that county officials discriminated against him when they fired him for violating a residency rule that is widely abused by many other employees.

"The county has a history and practice of employing corrections officers and other employees who do not maintain a primary residence in Albany County, despite the county's knowledge that such employees do not reside in Albany County," the claim states.

Albany County Attorney Thomas Marcelle said the county enforces the rule when it learns that it's being violated.

"Mr. Henry is not unique in this situation. It's happened a number of times to a number of employees inside and outside the sheriff's department, and he swore under penalty of law that he lived in Albany County," Marcelle said. "He's not being picked on but we are enforcing the law."

In an unprecedented move, though, the county filed a court claim three months ago seeking restitution from Henry for more than $400,000 that he's received in pay and benefits since 2007, when Henry filed documents in Saratoga County confirming his residency there. Henry has been a corrections officer since 2002, but has spent most of his career on disability due to a back injury.

In October, Henry allegedly signed an affidavit indicating his primary residence is in Albany, where his mother resides.

Henry's attorney, Scott Peterson of Saratoga Springs, said the county arguably singled out his client for termination because Henry was declared permanently disabled eight years ago after suffering a debilitating back injury on the job.

"Our information that we have suggests the county was well aware that many, many members of the union and other employees lived outside the county, yet one of the only people they took action against was Mr. Henry ... because of a job-related injury," Peterson said. "That doesn't seem to be evidence that he's being treated fairly."

Peterson added that the county's civil action seeking to recoup $400,000 in back wages from Henry is "highly questionable" and is a legal tactic that has never been used against any other employee.

Last November, Henry said it was "no secret" he has lived in Saratoga County and he said he'd received letters at his Wilton address and a prior residence in Stillwater from former Sheriff James L. Campbell.

On the heels of the county's decision to fire Henry, Mike Lyons, a corrections officer who is president of the union representing 276 jail officers, disclosed that he's lived in an adjacent county for many years. Lyons said the reason payroll records listed his address as the Latham residence of a fellow jail officer is because that address was put on file at a time when he was living away from his family.

The county took no action against Lyons, who told the sheriff he would sell his home and move to Albany County.

Lyons said he thought he wasn't subject to the county residency rule enacted in 1995, two years before he was hired, because a county personnel official told him back then that he was exempt because he had previously worked for the Albany school district.

The claim filed by Henry comes as county lawmakers are seeking to enact a rule that would give employees violating the residency requirement about a year to move into Albany County. The resolution is scheduled to be introduced Monday for action by the County Legislature.